Pleasanton Weekly

Two busted in daytime burglaries

Homeowner video used to trace car used in heists

by Glenn Wohltmann

Surveillance video taken at a March 26 daytime burglary in the 8000 block of Regency Drive has led to the arrest of a two males from Tracy.

Detectives from Pleasanton and Livermore served search warrants on the homes of Andrea Pina, 22, and a 17-year-old early April 12 with help from their counterparts in Tracy. Evidence linking the pair to a string of burglaries here and in Livermore was recovered, and a Pleasanton police news release says the investigation is continuing in order to determine the extent of crimes committed by the two.

"This investigation was successful due to the clear, high-definition video system that captured video of the suspect vehicle and the suspects leaving the scene of the crime," the release stated.

The video was provided by the would-be victim, who was at his home on Regency Drive at about 11:35 a.m., when he heard his doorbell ring. The resident opted not to answer the door but spotted a man trying to enter the home by forcing open a sliding window on the side yard moments later.

The would-be burglar fled to the street and into an awaiting a black, four-door sedan with two occupants; the car sped out of the Laguna Oaks development toward Foothill Road.

While police were headed to the scene, a driver turning onto Stoneridge Drive from Foothill Road saw the occupants of a black sedan throwing several items out of their car. The driver lost sight of the car near Interstate 680 but drove to the Pleasanton Police Department to report what she had seen.

Officers who recovered the discarded property on Stoneridge Drive found miscellaneous items showing an address in the 800 block of Hopkins Way. When police went to that residence, they discovered the home had been broken into and ransacked.

The video from the attempted break-in was turned over to police who initially identified the car as a Lexus. It was later identified as a Cadillac Deville and was located in the city of Tracy, which led to the identification of the pair of burglars.

Meanwhile, the Livermore Police Department was conducting its own investigation regarding residential burglaries. Pina was identified as a suspect in its burglaries as well.

The Pleasanton and Livermore police departments developed information that both Pina and the juvenile had been working together and had committed residential burglaries in both cities

Pina was booked at Santa Rita Jail on burglary and conspiracy to commit a felony. The juvenile suspect was booked at Alameda County Juvenile Hall on one count of burglary. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Pleasanton Police Department at 931-5100.